Slavin Has a Rough Game 1 as Montreal Comes Out Flying

Jaccob Slavin had a difficult night in the series opener, and that is never the kind of line a shutdown defenseman wants attached to his name. Montreal setting the tone early makes the pressure feel even sharper, because the Canadiens do not need many chances to turn one mistake into a problem. Fantasy players will track the stat line, but the real issue is whether Carolina can stabilize before the matchup starts tilting the wrong way.